Tag: The Dickens Project SL

The Dickens Project, a seasonal celebration of the life, times and work of Charles Dickens with a focus on what is perhaps his most famous story, A Christmas Carol, officially opens to the public on Friday, December 6th, 2024.

Now a tradition within Second Life – the first edition of the event was held in 2012 (and which itself grew out of a special presentation originally made in 2008), the Dickens Project offers a mix of reading, storytelling, music, events and activities. It is organised and presented by Seanchai Library and offers visitors an immersive environment across two regions evocative of Victorian England in Dickens’ time. Within this settings, Seanchai Library and friends will be hosting a variety of events and activities, including readings of A Christmas Carol.

This year brings with it new features and tools to help visitors feel more immersed within the setting. These include:

• A Personal Audio HUD (developed by Shandon Loring) and a Map HUD: (developed by Arrehn Oberlander) designed to assist guests in connecting the words of Dickens’ novella with the created environment and sorting through the many “Points of Interest” across both regions of the setting. Both will be available at the Welcome Centre and various locations around the Project. The Map HUD required accepting the Caledonian Studios SL Experience which is also used for the regions’ teleportal system.

• Feature Markers to help guests discover points of engagement including task animations. These comprise:
  • The red hammers icon: indicating that here you can perform a task such as baking a pie, hammering out a horseshoe, chopping wood, weaving baskets or making gingerbread.
  • The blue camera icon: indicating a pose scene is available for you and your friends to use and take pictures.
  • The green people icon: denoting that there is a sitting action available including things like drinking tea and cakes in a shop, playing a game. There are also scenes available where you can mind a store, or a market stall, or tend a fire.

Readings and Events

The Dickens performing community is back in force this year, including opening weekend performances by Angelicus Boy Choir, the opening celebration of the Hermes Kondor art show, and a reading presentation by Poet Klannex Northmead from Dickens’ “Little Dorrit.”

These are all in addition to the live story reading programs which Seanchai Library is known for.  The popular Carol Week will begin on Friday, December 20th with a section of Dickens’ novella presented live each day in a Story Tour presentation at the sites on the estate inspired by the story.

Also returning for 2024 is the Community Virtual Library, once again providing research and information on Victorian life in the time of Dickens’ works; the Angelicus Boy Choir; the Raglan Shire Tiny Carollers; the Seanchai readers and friends, and, of course a broad range of entertainment and parties featuring DJs and live musicians from across Second Life.

The full calendar of events for the Project is provided below – note all times are SLT.

To keep up-to-date on daily events and updates, be sure to keep an eye on the Seanchai Library website.

Important Note: The Dickens Project uses several Experience-based systems including Caledonian Studios, Quantum Products, and MetaHarpers Interactive Theatre for teleportation and to enhance guests interaction. If you are prompted to join any of these Experiences during your visit, please ensure you accept them.

Dickens Project Art Show

Returning for 2024 is the Dickens Project Art Show, which is currently open (until December 16th, 2024) to submissions from artists wishing to participate.

This is a non-juried show which will formally open on December 22nd, 2024 with a special opening celebration at 11:00 SLT on that day, and will run through until January 5th, 2025. Artists are invited to submit 2D art (some 3D art can be accommodated by arrangement), with the organisers given priority to art with the following themes:

• Elements of The Dickens Project.
• Victorian Christmas.
• Winter beauty.

Multiple submissions are allowed, but the number of works shown per artist may be limited in order to allow as many artists to be represented as possible.

Submissions (and enquiries about the Art Show) should be made via notecard to Stevie Basevi, with submissions no later that December 16th, 2024. These notecards should include: the artist’s full SL Name (that is, Display Name and account name); the artist’s physical world time zone or best SL times when they can be contacted; a brief description of the piece + an artist biography; a *preview* image of the art to be submitted (i.e. a lower-resolution, thumbnail copy in order to provide the organisers with an idea of the work – not the art itself); and optional links to a related website, Flickr page, etc., for the artist.

About Seanchai Library

Seanchai Library (pronounced Shawn-a-kee, which means “Storyteller” in Irish Gaelic.) was founded in March of 2008 in Second Life. The program remains dedicated to promoting the power of stories to transform and inspire through live voice presentations: “We bring stories of all kinds to life, in Second Life and other virtual worlds.”

The Dickens Project was created for Seanchai Library by Da5id Abbot, Dagmar Kohime, Gloriana Maertens, Stevie Basevi-Morane, Iniry Vaher, and Caledonia Skytower, in presenting it, Seanchai Library acknowledges the support and sponsorship of Linden Lab.

Links and SLurls

• Seanchai Library website
• The Dickens Project web page
• The Dickens Project Welcome Area

The Dickens Project, a seasonal celebration of the life, times and work of Charles Dickens with a focus on what is perhaps his most famous story, A Christmas Carol, officially opens to the public on Thursday, December 7th 2023.

Now a tradition within Second Life – the first edition of the event was held in 2012 (and which itself grew out of a special presentation originally made in 2008), the Dickens Project offers a mix of reading, storytelling, music, events and activities. It is organised and presented by Seanchai Library and offers visitors an immersive environment across two regions evocative of Victorian England in Dickens’ time. This two-region environment serves as both home to settings from A Christmas Carol and the stage upon which the Project’s multiple events and activities take place throughout it run, which concludes in early January 2024. However, this year’s event brings with it some changes.

“This project has a lot of history and long time fans have a lot of ownership over elements that are favourites … We try to balance retaining things that are familiar with exploring new ideas and new ways to improve the experience for our guests

– Caledonia Skytower, Seanchai Library

For 2023, and following the success of Where’s Mr. Lurky?, a search-and-count style hunt during Seanchai Library’s 2023 Bradbury Project (read more here), the 2023 Edition of The Dickens Project will see visitors invited to Help Tiny Tim! who has left his crutch somewhere, everywhere across the two Dickens regions and which visitors are invited to find in all of its various hiding places. Information on the hunt can be found at the event’s Welcome Area.

Another new feature this year is a celebration of the myth of mermaids. Depicted in many ways throughout history, from lithe beautiful maidens to grotesque fish hybrids, mermaids were also a source of fascination in the Victorian era. For 2023, the Dickens Project offers a fascinating display of some of the art and stories surrounding these mythical creatures. Curated by Dagmar Kohime, the display can be found at the lighthouse within Dickens Harbour.

As with  the 2022 Edition, The Dickens Project is this year assisted by a local SL Experiences to help with navigation and general enjoyment. All three are explained at the Project’s Welcome Area. They will be triggered automatically for anyone visiting the Project for the very first time, when approaching one of the teleport portals around the walls of the Welcome Area – so if you are new the the Project, expect the pop-up invite to join the Experiences and accept it when it appears. To also assist visitors with the layout of the regions, the floor of the Welcome Area also includes a map of both regions which highlight locations of interest.

Throughout its history, The Dickens Project has promoted communities through events and activities held throughout its annual run, and 2023 is no exception. Participating this year are: Virtual Community Radio, Innsmouth in SL, Evolution Dance, Idle Rogue Productions, Misfit Dance and Performance Art SL, and Virtuoso Dance, eClipse Club & Resort, and the SL Hawks Aerobatic Team. Some of these communities have dedicated spaces within the Project’s regions which can be reached via the teleport portals at the Welcome Areas, others- such as the Hawks Aerobatic Team. will be visiting to provide special shows.

Also returning for 2023 is the Community Virtual Library, once again providing research and information on Victorian life in the time of Dickens’ works, whilst making a first and special appearance of December 30th is the Angelicus Boy Choir. Finally, the Project will see a broad range of entertainment and parties featuring DJs and live musicians from across Second Life.

Readings

Of course, no edition of the Project would be complete without the readings from Dickens’ a Christmas Carol.

The first such reading for 2023 will take place at 17:00 SLT on Thursday, December 7th, when the Community Virtual Library will host the Virtual Pioneers reading A Christmas Carol: Christmas Present. Then at noon SLT on Sunday, December 17th, 2023, there will be The Big Read, a relay-style reading of A Christmas Carol in its entirety.

The latter will mark the start of Carol Week, with daily readings for parts of the novella throughout the week of December 18th through 21st, each reading taking place at a location within the Project inspired by the story. In addition, a listening room is available 24/7 where guests can listen to different recordings of A Christmas Carol on the media stream, and a HUD can be obtained  by visitors who would like to explore listening to the story stream, rather than the music stream.

The full calendar of events for the Project is provided below – note all times are SLT.

To keep up-to-date on daily events and updates, be sure to keep an eye on the Seanchai Library website.

Dickens Project Art Show

Returning for 2023 is the Dickens Project Art Show, which is currently open (until December 17th, 2023) to submissions from artists.

This is a non-juried show which will formally open on December 23rd, 2023 with a special opening party at 15:30 SLT on that day. Artists are invited to submit 2D art (some 3D art can be accommodated by arrangement), with the organisers given priority to art with the following themes:

• Elements of The Dickens Project.
• Victorian Christmas.
• Winter beauty.

Multiple submissions are allowed, but the number of works shown per artist may be limited in order to allow as many artists to be represented as possible.

Submissions should be made via notecard to Stevie Basevi. These notecards should include: the artist’s full SL Name (that is, Display Name and account name); the artist’s physical world time zone or best SL times when they can be contacted; a brief description of the piece + an artist biography; a *preview* image of the art to be submitted (i.e. a lower-resolution, thumbnail copy in order to provide the organisers with an idea of the work – not the art itself); and optional links to a related website, Flickr page, etc., for the artist.

General enquiries – including those concerning 3D art submissions – should also be forwarded to Stevie Basevi.

About Seanchai Library

Seanchai Library (pronounced Shawn-a-kee, which means “Storyteller” in Irish Gaelic.) was founded in March of 2008 in Second Life. The program remains dedicated to promoting the power of stories to transform and inspire through live voice presentations: “We bring stories of all kinds to life, in Second Life and other virtual worlds.”

The Dickens Project was created for Seanchai Library by Da5id Abbot, Dagmar Kohime, Gloriana Maertens, Stevie Basevi-Morane, Iniry Vaher, and Caledonia Skytower, in presenting it, Seanchai Library acknowledges the support and sponsorship of Linden Lab.

Links and SLurls

• Seanchai Library website
• The Dickens Project web page
• The Dickens Project Welcome Area

The Dickens Project, a seasonal celebration of the life, times and work of Charles Dickens with a focus on what is perhaps his most famous story, A Christmas Carol, officially opens to the public on Thursday, December 8th 2022s.

Now a tradition within Second Life – the first edition of the event was held in 2012 (and which itself grew out of a special presentation made in 2008), the Dickens Project offers a mix of reading, storytelling, music, events and activities, each year introducing something new to the mix to add a little more magic for visitors to enjoy – and 2022 is no exception.

Organised by Seanchai Library, The Dickens Project presents visitors with an immersive environment across two regions evocative of Victorian England in Dickens’ time and which is both home to settings from A Christmas Carol and stage upon which a range of events and activities take place throughout the Project’s month-long run, which concludes on January 3rd, 2023. However, this year’s event brings with it some changes.

This year we challenged a lot of assumptions about how we configured the land to tell the story, so Dickens Project fans will discover is a layout that is very different from past Projects, but still has narrative sense. It feels like a lot ‘more’, somehow, and yet will still have the friendly familiarity that many will expect.

Caledonia Skytower, Seanchai Library

One of the key changes this year is the use of an Experience based teleport system and a skybound Landing Point.  The latter provides a map of the event’s two regions, information in events and requirements for visiting The Dickens Project (e.g. Victorian era costumes are not required, but if visitors wish to dress the part, they are welcome to do so).  This landing point also includes a series of teleport portals to different points within the setting – and this is where the Experience teleport system comes into play.

On walking through any of the portals for the first time, visitors to The Dickens Project 2022 visitors will be asked to accept the local Experience, allowing the portals to teleport them to their destination. Note that in keeping with the SL Experience system, acceptance only needs to be done once; thereafter all teleports through any portals will be seamless. This approach means that the regions themselves lack a common welcome area visitors to previous Dickens Project events might otherwise anticipate, but it also means visitors can have a greater freedom of exploration.

Joining Seanchai Library in presenting the event this year are Virtual Community Radio, Innsmouth in SL and The Community Virtual Library, who will again provide research and information on Victorian life in the time of Dickens’ works. For 2022, the Project and its activities include:

Of course, no edition of the The Dickens Project would be complete without Carol Week, featuring readings of A Christmas Carol. However, for 2022, things will be done a little differently. The week will begin with The Big Read on Sunday, December 18th at 12:00 noon SLT. This relay-style presentation involves a chorus of voices in a continuous reading of Dickens’ famous novella from the beginning to end. Following this, there will be daily readings of the story from December 19th, 2002 through to December 22nd, each day presenting a stave of A Christmas Carol within the various locations within the regions inspired by the story.

To keep up-to-date on the Project and its daily events, be sure to keep an eye on the Seanchai Library website and the Dickens Project calendar.

About Seanchai Library

Seanchai Library (pronounced Shawn-a-kee, which means “Storyteller” in Irish Gaelic.) was founded in March of 2008 in Second Life. The program remains dedicated to promoting the power of stories to transform and inspire through live voice presentations: “We bring stories of all kinds to life, in Second Life and other virtual worlds.”

In presenting The Dickens Project 2022 Edition, Seanchai Library acknowledge the support and sponsorship of Linden Lab and the particular support of Patch Linden and the Land Team.

Links and SLurls

• Seanchai Library website
• The Dickens Project Landing Point
• The Dickens Project calendar

This week sees events at The Dickens Project 2020 with Seanchai Library (read more about this year’s edition of the project here) reach the famous Carol Week, where Monday through Friday the entire tale of A Christmas Carol is told over successive days at times suitable for most audiences. And there’s a lot more going on throughout the week as well!

Remember to check the full calendar of events at the project.

Sunday, December 13th, 13:00: The Ghost Flights of Christmas

In this unique adaptation by Luke Flywalker, the SL Hawks Aerobatic Team tell the story of Alexander Scrooge (descendant of the legendary Ebenezer) and his journey to regain his joy and love of life through the intercession of his deceased partner, Bill Farley, and thanks to the visits of three squads of ghost pilots.

The Tarmac – Dickens Project

Carol Week, December 14th-18th

All events take place at the Dickens Square Main Landing Point unless otherwise indicated.

• Monday, December 14th, 14:00 and 19:00 – Stave One: Marley’s Ghost.
• Tuesday, December 15th:
  • 14:00: Stave Two: the First of Three Spirits – Dickens Square Main Landing Point.
  • 15:00: SKATING PARTY! at the Skating Pond – north of Dickens Square Main Landing Point.
  • 17:00: ISTE VEN Tour – Camden Town Square – Library Row.
  • 19:00: Dickens the First of Three Spirits – Square Main Landing Point.
• Wednesday, December 16th, 14:00 and 19:00 – Stave Three – The Second of Three Spirits.
• Thursday, December 17th, 14:00 and 19:00 – Staves Four & Five – The Last of the Spirits & The End of It.
• Friday, December 18th:
  • 11:00: Sultan the Pit Pony Companion Give-Away at the Pony Ride Pavilion just North of Dickens Square.
  • 13:45: the WOOTMAS cheer of the Raglan Shire Carollers – Dickens Square Main Landing Point.
  • 14:00-16:00: Celebrating the Open Art Show with English Christmas Carols & DJ Gabrielle Riel -Dickens Square Main Landing Point.
  • 18:30: Misfit Dance & Performance Art Presents A Very Misfit Christmas – Misfit Theatre – Dickens Harbour.

Saturday, December 19th

• 11:00: Misfit Dance & Performance Art Presents A Very Misfit Christmas – Misfit Theatre – Dickens Harbour.
• 14:00-16:00: Fezziwig’s Ball at the Opera House.

Sunday, December 20th

• 11:00: Wald Schridde Live – Dickens Square Main Landing Point.
• 12:00-15:30 – THE BIG READ – all five staves of A Christmas Carol in a single sitting – Dickens Square Main Landing Point.

The Dickens Project, a seasonal celebration of the life, times and work of Charles Dickens with a focus on what is perhaps his most famous story, A Christmas Carol, officially opens to the public on Friday, December 4th 2020.

An annual event since 2012 (and which grew out of a special presentation made in 2008), the Dickens Project offers an annual mix of reading, storytelling, music, events and activities, each year introducing something new to the mix to add a little more magic for visitors to enjoy – and 2020 is no exception.

Organised by Seanchai Library, The Dickens Project presents visitors with an immersive environment evocative of Victorian England in Dickens’ time and which is both home to settings from A Christmas Carol and stage upon which a range of events and activities take place throughout the Project’s month-long run. This year, as one of the elements, a second region is added to be mix, offering visitors even more to explore and discover.

Every year The Dickens Project intentionally blends the familiar features of previous years with new things waiting to be discovered. It helps our loyal visitors feel like they are coming home, gets them excited about what’s new, and encourages them to share the experience with their friends. That’s our goal. Each year the Dickens Project is just a little different. This year, with a second region, there is a lot that is fresh and new.

Caledonia Skytower, Seanchai Library

The project’s programme of events runs on a weekly basis, with activities for each week announced via the project’s calendar page. However, highlights include:

Of course, no edition of the The Dickens Project would be complete without Carol Week, which sees a part of A Christmas Carol read each day in a “story tour” that visits the corresponding parts of the main Project region that have been inspired by those same parts of the story. This week of readings culminates in a further Project tradition, The Big Read, a relay-style reading of all of Dickens’ novella, featuring the voices of up to 12 storytellers. This year taking place on Sunday, December 20th, at noon (SLT), The Big Read follows the equally popular Fezziwig’s Ball, which for 2020 will take place in the Opera House on Saturday, December 19th.

A further new aspect to this year’s Edition are the special art shows. the first of these, the Open Art Show is currently accepting requests to participate from Second Life artists, and you can read more about this in The Dickens Project 2020: call for artists, with applications being accepted through until December 13th.

The second art event – the Invitational Show – opens on Saturday, December 5th, at 14:00 SLT, and features the 2D and 3D art of CybeleMoon, Iris Okiddo and Silas Merlin, who present images and sculptures evocative of the Victorian era and its winters, and a small collection from yours truly that recalls past Dickens Project events.

To keep up-to-date on the Project and its daily events, be sure to keep an eye on the Seanchai Library website and the Dickens Project calendar.

About Seanchai Library

Seanchai Library (pronounced Shawn-a-kee, which means “Storyteller” in Irish Gaelic.) was founded in March of 2008 in Second Life. The program remains dedicated to promoting the power of stories to transform and inspire through live voice presentations: “We bring stories of all kinds to life, in Second Life and other virtual worlds.”

In presenting The Dickens Project 2020 Edition, Seanchai Library acknowledge the support and sponsorship of Linden Lab and the particular support of Patch Linden and the Land Team.

Links and SLurls

Note that The Dickens Project regions are rated Moderate. Note that SLurls will be available for use from 07:00 SLT on Friday, December 4th.

• Seanchai Library website
• The Dickens Project
• The Dickens Project calendar
• SLurls:
  • The Dickens Project main landing
  • The Dickens Project Invitational Art Show